Suspension means for boat berths



Sept.'29, 1936. \M S L 2,055,717

SUSPENSION MEANS FOR BOAT BERTHS Filed April 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1IN VENTOR.

' MERE) DADSWELL A RNEY.

Sept. 29, 1936. M. DADSWELL SUSPENSION MEANS FOR BOAT BERTHS Filed April18, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

MERCY DADSWELL Patented Sept. 29, 1936 2,055,717

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SUSPENSION MEANS FOR BOAT BERTHS MercyDadswell, Detroit, Mich.

Application April 18, 1936, Serial No. 75,095

Claims. (Cl. 114-193) This invention relates to beds, and more par- Fig.4 is a vertical sectional view taken substanticularly to a suspensionmeans for beds in boats, tially on the plane indicated by the lines 4-4of ambulances, air craft and the like. Fig. 2. 4

The invention has for its principal object the Fig. 5 is a sectionalview taken substantially 5 provision of means whereby a bed may be susonthe plane indicated by the lines 5-5 of Fig. 3. 5 pended from above andcushioned against the Upon reference to the drawings, it will be notedswaying and rolling motions present in boats or that in the embodimentherein disclosed, my other moving vehicles. invention comprises aconventional four poster Another object of the invention is the probed,indicated generally by the reference char- ]0 vision of a suspensionmeans for beds having acter ill, a coupling ll of the ball and socket l0suitable adjustments which may be varied acvariety, and a plurality ofresilient spring memcording to the particular conditions encountered.bers l2.

For instance, the tension of the coupling between The bed I0 issupported by the four corner the bed and the supporting structure may bevapillars l3 which may be of any desired shape and ried to best adaptthe bed to varying degrees of construction. For example, they might be L15 instability of the supporting structure. In this shaped angle bars,rectangular bars, or square manner the occupant of the bed is assured ofones; but for the sake of simplicity, strength the maximum amount ofcomfort under any and and appearance I have illustrated herein pillarsall conditions. of tubular construction, preferably made of steel.

00 An advantageous feature of the invention re- The bed consists of thehead piece 14, the foot sides in the fact that with its use, thediscomfort piece I5, and the base l6 upon which is supfound in overnighttravel on boats, trains, aeroported suitable springs and mattress (notshown) planes and the like, may to a great extent be and the bedding ll.The upper extremities of obviated. Heretofore travelers have had toenthe pillars l3 are braced by the cross members dure restless andsleepless nights and the inevi- I8, which are preferably made of Lshaped 25 table poor health and personal inefficiency reangle bars.suiting therefrom. With my invention this is Extending inwardly andupwardly from the largely eliminated. The vibration and swaying fourupper corners of the bed in are U shaped motions of the vehicle orvessel are effectively channel members 19, which are joined togetherdamped and the sleeper may rest in comparative by the circular disc 20.The aforesaid channel 30 comfort. members l9 may be bolted, riveted,welded or A further object of the present invention is otherwisesuitably secured to the four corners of the provision of a suspensionmeans of the charthe bed. Likewise they may be fastened to the acterreferred to, which is sturdy, though simple disc 20 by any convenientmeans, but in this inin construction; one inexpensive to manufacturestance I prefer to weld them, for the purpose and assemble; and onewhich occupies a miniof strength and economy.

mum of space. The bed assembly hereinabove described de- Other objectsand advantages of the invenpends from the ceiling of the vehicle or boattion will appear as the description proceeds. stateroom by means of thecoupling II. I prefer The invention resides in the improved contoconstruct the coupling H in the form of a ball 40 St uCt of t be and itsCooperating coupling, and socket arrangement, but it is not beyond theand in the combination and arrangement of contemplation of the inventionto employ any parts, the novelty of Which Will be particularly othersuitable type of universal acting coupling. pointed out and distinctlyclaimed hereinafter. The socket of the coupling ll comprises a hollow Inorder to understand the invention more spherical-member 2| and ahorizontally disposed 45 readily, it is believed desirable to firstdescribe flange 22, which is preferably formed integrally oneconstruction of a device embodying the inwith the memberZl. The abovementioned flange vention and to this end reference should be 22 isadapted to be bolted or otherwise fixedly made to the accompanyingdrawings, in which: secured to the ceiling or supporting structure ofFig. 1 is a perspective view of a device em the stateroom or berth. Thespherical portion 50 bodying the invention. 2| is formed in two pieces,being split as at 23 Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, with the canopy toenable the ball to be readily insertable therein. removed. Arranged tofrictionally engage the inner sur- Fig. 3 is a side elevational view ofthe device, face of the hollow spherical portion 2| of the also with thecanopy removed. socket is the ball 24 (Fig. 4). Both the outer sur- 55face of the ball '24 and the inner surface of the socket are formed withsmooth cooperating bearing surfaces for free relative movementtherebetween. The ball 24 has an axial hole extending therethrough, saidhole being formed with an enlarged cone shaped opening at its upperextremity for the purpose of engaging the similarly shaped head 25 ofthe supporting rod 26 extending through the ball. To permit unobstructedmovement of the rod 26, I have formed the aforementioned socket 2| withan enlarged opening 21 in the bottom thereof. The lower end of the rod26 passes through a centrally positioned hole in the disc 20 and isfastened to said disc by any suitable means. In the illustratedembodiment this fastening means comprises a nut 28 adapted to bethreaded upon the end of the rod 26, but the union could also besuccessfully made by welding or by shrinking the parts together.

From the above description it will be apparent that the bed I0 iseffectively secured from any motion of the boat, aeroplane or vehicle.The socket 2| of the device will move as a unit with the motion of thesupporting structure, but the bed ID will tend to remain on an even keeldue to the relative movement occuring between the ball 24 and the socket2|. A further examination of the device, however, discloses the factthat a damping effect must be employed to render the bed stable and toprevent any tendency of the bed to oscillate or set up a counter motionto the motion of the boat. A preferred form of damping regulator isshown in the drawings, and is hereinafter described.

Fixedly secured to the horizontally extending flange 22 of the socketare the flat resilient springs I2. The springs are bent downwardly andoutwardly in such manner that their central portions contact thespherical socket 2| and their lower portions rest in the channels formedby the U shaped members l9. In this instance four springs are utilized,one in each channel member. The springs |2 are installed in place whileunder a predetermined amount of compression, and being in relatedcontact between the socket 2| and the channel members I9, it is obviousthat a damping effect is secured. Furthermore, the engagement of thesprings l2 in the channels l9 resist any tendency of the bed to rotateor turn about the vertical axis.

In order to permit the occupant of the bed to adjust the amount ofcompression in the springs I2 to secure the maximum comfort under anyParticular condition, I provide means for increasing or decreasing thedegree of bend in said springs, as illustrated in Fig. 4. This meanscomprises a bolt 30 which extends upwardly through the bottom of thechannel Hi. The lower end of the bolt is formed with the wingshaped head3| to facilitate turning thereof, and a fiat washer 32 is fastened tothe upper end of said bolt. The bolt is positioned in the channel I9directly beneath the point of contact of the spring I2, so that thespring rests upon the top of the washer 32. It is readily seen that thewasher may be raised or lowered by means of the wing-headed bolt tosespring l2.

For cleanliness and appearance, the upD LP' rtion of the bed is coveredby means of a canopy 33, made of any suitable fabric. The canopy extendsover the channels I9 and is formed with suitably located openings 34 toenable the springs I2 to operate in said channels. In addition, Iprovide an inner covering 35 (Fig. 4) which covers the working partsfrom the view of the occupant. Small holes are located in this coveringto permit the heads 3| of the bolts 30 to extend therethrough, for easyadjustment.

Although I have herein disclosed a certain embodiment ofmy invention,it'will be understood that various modifications may be employed,without violating the spirit of the invention, all of which are-intendedto be within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. Suspension means for a bed comprising the combination of a splitannular member having depending semi-spherical portions, a ball freelymounted in said last named portions, means secured to said ball forsupporting a bed, said means comprising an axial member secured to saidball, transverse channel members secured to said last named member andto the frame of a bed, and resilient means extending between saidannular member and said channel members.

2.. Suspension means for a'bed comprising the n combination of a splitannular member having depending semi-spherical portions, a ball freelymounted in said last named portions, means secured to said ball forsupporting a bed, said means comprising an axial member secured to saidball,

transverse channel members secured to said last' named member and to theframe of a bed, re-

silient means extending between said annular member and said channelmembers, and adjustable means for varying the tension on said' resilientmeans.

3. In a bed suspension-device including a ball and socket joint, thecombination of a plurality of channel members secured to said ball andarranged to support a bed, and arcuate flat springs secured at one endto said socket, the free ends of said springs being arranged to slidablyengage said channel members. s

4. In a bed suspension device including a ball and socket joint, thecombination of aplurality of channel members secured to said ball andarranged to support a bed, arcuate fiat springs secured at one end tosaid socket, the free ends-of said springs being arranged to slidablyengage said channel members, and adjustable means carried by saidchannel members for 'varying the tension on said springs.

5. In a bed suspension device including a ball and socket joint, thecombination of a plurality of transversely extending channel memberssecured to said ball, and arcuate fiat springs secured at one end tosaid socket, the free ends of said springs being arranged to slidablyengage said channel members and prevent axial movement of said ball.

MERCY DADSWELL.

